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Commando

Commando

Action · Adventure · Thriller · 1985

John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.

Movie details

Commando

“Somewhere, somehow, someone's going to pay.”

1985 Action · Adventure · Thriller 1h 30m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.7 / 10

186K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

70 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

51 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

John Matrix, the former leader of a special commando strike force that always got the toughest jobs done, is forced back into action when his young daughter is kidnapped. To find her, Matrix has to fight his way through an array of punks, killers, one of his former commandos, and a fully equipped private army. With the help of a feisty stewardess and an old friend, Matrix has only a few hours to overcome his greatest challenge: finding his daughter before she's killed.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Commando?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mark L. Lester

Written by

Steven E. de Souza · Jeph Loeb · Matthew Weisman

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

John Matrix

Rae Dawn Chong

Rae Dawn Chong

Cindy

Dan Hedaya

Dan Hedaya

Arius

Vernon Wells

Vernon Wells

Bennett

James Olson

James Olson

Major General Franklin Kirby

David Patrick Kelly

David Patrick Kelly

Sully

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano

Jenny Matrix

Court is in session

Put Commando on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.